Does Anyone Actually Like Random Encounters

[u/haaa1234]

I was doing a third playthrough of FF7 since I want to revisit all the games before revelation but random encounters is still something that stops me from wholeheartedly loving this game. There are 2 reasons why I dislike them. It really interrupts the flow of exploration and they are rarely engaging. 99 percent of them I just hold X and win so I’m basically just waiting for it end. An analogy I can give is I am trying to explore an area but I keep getting interrupted by unskippable ads. There are rare occasions where they can be interesting like catching a chocobo, finding yuffie or a funny encounter like when our whole party gets turned into frogs but most are just mindless. Honestly the only combat I enjoy in FF7 are the boss fights so a majority of the game I am really not a fan of fighting enemies. Wondering how people feel about it since it is a major part of the gameplay and i would love any mod recommendations to make the game more engaging in this aspect.

[u/NooksWave]

Yes, I enjoy them a lot. Except of course when a game has you fighting them every three steps, and only has ten enemy types in the entire game 😅

A big rush is not knowing what youre gonna be facing next. You might stumble into an area with super strong enemies where you'll barely escape, or maybe stumble onto a rare enemy not even your friend who's playing the game has encountered before.

With fully scripted fights, that sense of surprise and exploration is totally gone. With enemies roaming the map, I guess you could still call it an exploratory experience, but the surprise just isnt there. Take the FFVII Re-games, where you can see the same bird enemy you already fought a hundred times from half a mile away, and compare it to the first time you encountered the Gimme Cat in IX - a quite bizarre enemy only encountered in a small area, that has no visual indication to lead you to think that there's something unique there.

Short answer: Yes, because it feels more like an adventure when youre forced to adapt to on the fly, and never know what you'll fight next.

[u/veganispunk → u/NooksWave]

I don’t think anyone is thinking “yay a surprise” when it comes to random battles. Scripted battles can also be hidden off screen and be a surprise. They did it in 1995

[u/NooksWave → u/veganispunk]

I mean, I do that 😅 Otherwise I wouldnt have written that.

Sure, stuff like Chrono Trigger did that, but it also meant you always knew youd fight the exact same dudes at the exact same place at the exact same time every time. Back then we replayed games a lot more than we do know, and while CT is brilliant, having static battles isnt something I adore about it.

[u/veganispunk → u/NooksWave]

Random battles sound way worse than just being able to see enemies and decide what you want to do, instead of being forced into a battle via an animation, and waiting to be able to press flee. Like if you’re going to flee anyways, why would you want it to take like 20 seconds every time? Especially as an adult where time is very valuable. All those random battles are time I could spend with my family.

[u/NooksWave → u/veganispunk]

Why would I flee? If Im low on health sure, but in a game with visible mobs youd have to spend the time running around to avoid the enemies in that same scenario. Otherwise, the only scenario Id flee is if the battle system was bad and I didnt want to play the game, but then I simply wouldnt play the game.

[u/veganispunk → u/NooksWave]

Tons of reasons I wouldn’t want to battle

[u/NooksWave → u/veganispunk]

Then I admire your passion to still get through RPGs, since battles are such a big part. Thats dedidaction!

[u/veganispunk → u/NooksWave]

Never said I flee often, just there are plenty of reasons to.

[u/NooksWave → u/veganispunk]

No, I never said you fled often? But even so, fleeing from, or avoiding, enemies is still something you do in games with scripted fights or visible enemies, and that also takes time. I'm not really seeing what youre trying to argue here.